We know that wetlands around the world face big challenges: fragmentation, pollution, conversion, climate change, etc. But we also know that there are ways to combat these issues, and some of those options give us the chance to get directly involved in wetlands conservation. If you are looking for a way to participate, you’ve got […]
Archive for the ‘habitat loss’ Tag
Combating the swamp of sadness
Getting the water just right
As I have mentioned in previous posts, wetlands around the world are disappearing, in part because of land use changes and climate change. We should all be concerned about these losses because wetlands provide a number of ecosystem services that benefit us all, services like water filtration, vital wildlife habitat, carbon sequestration (in the peat), […]
Carving out a piece of the pie
I started looking into research on wetland loss around the world and quickly discovered that a large portion of what’s been published is about the Gulf Coast, specifically Louisiana. I could write for days about the situation all around me, but I know that wetlands in many locations are in trouble, so I kept digging […]
A disappearing act
I spent the last few days at a conference in New Orleans about the changing Gulf Coast that brought together researchers, engineers, long-time residents, and a wide variety of other people. The point was to share information and viewpoints about what is happening along the coast over the short- and long-term. Sea-level rise and climate […]
Putting otters in the clear
I spent some time this week looking into ways to get involved in otter conservation, and I’ve found a number of activities which run the gamut from pressing a few buttons on your computer to spending some time hanging out in a stream. I’ve divided them up into several categories- hopefully you find something that […]
A shallow, unaltered stream runs through it
In my last post, I mentioned that habitat degradation and human-caused mortality were some of the biggest issues facing river otters. Recent research has tended to support those views, while providing more detail about where, how, and when those issues loom largest. We’ve also seen that otter populations can recover with protection, but there are […]
On a downhill slope
As I started looking into the condition of river otters around the world, it became obvious that a lot of the information out there deals with otters in Europe and North America– I would say easily 90% of what I’ve read so far. In some ways that’s helpful, because it means that researchers have been […]
Crowded eels
In my last post, I mentioned some of the big issues facing eel populations around the world: habitat fragmentation, overexploitation, climate change. We’re constantly gaining information on how these problems impact eels, and we’re also getting a better sense of how to mitigate some of the challenges. Once again, I’m largely looking at those eel […]